Presidential Aircraft and Call Signs

Presidential Aircraft and Call SignsPresidential Aircraft and Call SignsPresident Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first President to fly while in office, to get to a wartime conference in Casablanca in this case, he flew aboard an Army C-54 and the Dixie Clipper, a Pan American Boeing 314 under contract to the government. The first aircraft specifically assigned for Presidential transportation was a heavily modified B-24 Liberator that was re-designated as a C-87A Liberator Express (serial 41-24159) named Guess Where II. However, the President never made use of it because the Secret tafelgeschirr, after a review of the C-87s controversial safety record in service, absolutely refused to approve Guess Where II for presidential transportation - although the First Lady did make use of it to tour South and Central America in 1944. Presidential Aircraft Models There have been many aircraft that have served as Presidential transportation. While the current aircraft is commonly referred t o as Air Force One, technically* the call sign only applies when the president is actually on board. There is a second VC-25A for use of the Vice President, and its call sign is Air Force Two when the Vice President is aboard. There is a history of aircraft used as Air Force One in the VC-25A link above, but there are some Air Force aircraft that have been used that are notlage listed, such as the smallest aircraft designated as Air Force One - the Aero Commander U-4B, used by President Eisenhower for short trips. It was also the first aircraft to use the distinctive blue and white paint scheme. Other Air Force craft used for Presidential Transportation include the Beach VC-6A, North American T-39A Sabre, and Lockheed VC-140B Jetstar. The President is also transported by way of helicopters, the first one Bell UH-13J the Air Force version of the Bell 47J Helicopter. President Eisenhower was the first President to fly in a helicopter off the White House lawn. Another previously used helicopter was the UH-34 Seahorse, followed by the VH-3A Sea King. The Military and Air Force One Up until 1976, the Marine Corps and the Army shared responsibility for Presidential helicopter transportation. Marine One is Presidential Call Sign that is also generally recognized by the public. This indicates that the President is flying on a Marine Corps aircraft Marine Two is used for the Vice President. When Army helicopters were/are used, the call sign Army One was/is for the President and Army Two for the Vice President. Since 1976, the Marine Corps has sole responsibility for Presidential helicopter transportation and currently uses either a VH-3D Sea King or a VH-60N WhiteHawk. The Navy One and Navy Two call signs are used for Navy aircraft. Theres only been one use of the Navy One call sign a Lockheed S-3B Viking (BuNo 159387) used to fly President George W. Bush in 2003 to USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). The Coast Guard One callsign has not yet been used, but Coast Guard Two was used once when Vice President Joe Biden used an HH-60 Jayhawk in 2009 to view the Atlanta Area that was flooded. If it happens that the President is using a civil aircraft, the call sign for that craft would be designated Executive One, and if it is the Vice President, then it would be Executive Two. The only President actually in office to make use of regularly scheduled commercial airline flights since the establishment of Presidential Transportation was President Nixon in 1973 during the energy crisis. A notable exception to this was the use of a military helicopter in 2009, when it took aboard President George W Bush after his term in office had expired the helicopter used the Executive One call sign. On the topic of commercial air lines, if the presidents family members are aboard, but not the president himself, the flight can (if it is determined by the White House staff or Secret Service to be necessary) use the call sign Executive One Foxtrot (Foxtrot indicating fa mily). For the family of the Vice President, the call sign would be Executive Two Foxtrot. * Federal Aviation Administration Order 7110.65V (Air Traffic Control) Change 3 effective as of 2014 April 3